Automobile theft continues to be a major problem in this country and others. Ignition locks in themselves offer little protection, in that it is easy to jump-star the car under the dashboard or hood, anywhere along the path of the ignition wires, thus by-passing the ignition lock. As a result, most car manufacturers place the ignition lock in the steering column and use the lock not just to disable the ignition but also to lock the steering wheel. Even if the car is jump started, it cannot be driven because the steering wheel remains locked.
But, steering column ignition locks, in practice, offer little protection from professional car thieves. Such individuals have learned how to defeat the locks quickly and easily, for example by using a dent puller to forceably remove the entire lock housing from the steering column.
Wolo Manufacturing, Inc. manufactures a steering lock cover, under the trademark Auto Watchman, which fits over a steering column-mounted ignition lock and offers an effectuve deterrent from tampering. The cover, which is described further in my prior U.S. Pat. No. 4,494,391, has an open side with arcuate edges that fit snugly against the side of the steering column. A double-strand link chain is attached to the top of the cover and wraps around the steering column. The free end of the chain slides into the bottom end of the cover out through a narrow slot so that it can be pulled taut. A lock mechanism contained inside the cover engages the chain to secure it in place.
This device is extremely resistent to tampering, since the cover lock and the mechanism for engaging the chain are both secure within the protective cover housing. Also, the bottom wall of the cover itself is utilized to help secure the chain in place. Because the cover lock is located inside the cover housing just below the steering column lock, it has the side benefit of preventing the cover from being rotated about the steering column.
My prior U.S. Pat. No. 4,505,140 describes a steering lock cover which employs the same type of protective housing, but with a simpler and less costly way of securing the free end of the chain to the bottom of the cover. In this configuration, I provide a pair of holes in the cover bottom wall and maneuver the U-shaped shackle of a conventional padlock into the holes. The shackle is welded in place so that the body of the lock is outside the cover. The chain, which may be a simple link chain, can thus be attached and removed simply by unlocking the padlock.
In mounting the device of my '140 patent, the chain is pulled taut around the steering column, and the link closest to the open shackle leg is placed over the shackle. The ability to select different links along the chain provides adjustability to accomodate steering columns of different diameters or to accomodate the extra chain length needed to direct the chain about obstacles on the column, such as the base of the turn signal lever. But, in most instances some slack will remain in the chain after it is locked. Also, in order to attach the chain it and the cover must be held against rotation while the attaching link is maneuvered onto the lock shackle, which makes it somewhat more awkward to attach than the Auto Watchman.
U S. Pat. No. 4,008,589 discloses a steering lock cover which is held on by a chain and in which the chain is adjustable in length. To do this, the fixed end of the chain is attached to a bolt which is held by a nut on a bracket extending from the cover. The free end of the chain is received in a slot in another bracket extending from the opposite end of the cover.
While the use of a bolt permits the effective length of the chain to be finely adjusted, and while the accompanying bracket, which extends out away from the cover and steering column post, may facilitate attaching the free end of the chain, these same features result in drawbacks as to the desirability and effectiveness of the device. First, the need for providing two brackets, and a cooperating nut and bolt assembly, is costly. Second, the nut and bolt assembly is exposed. Third since both brackets are cantilevered off the cover housing, and since the chain is attached to portions of the brackets that extend radially outward it may be possible to bend the brackets tangentially and free up the device. Fourth, the chain must still be pulled tight through the slot and held tight while attaching a padlock, which may be awkward, since the chain, the cover, and a padlock must all be held separately at the same time.